MONMOUTH, Ore. – Senior tight end Andy Avgi had two touchdown grabs and junior receiver Paul Revis caught 11 passes for 132 yards, but Central Washington scored 28 unanswered points in the second half to pick up a 41-20 Great Northwest Athletic Conference win on Saturday afternoon at McArthur Field.
 
Avgi hauled in a 29-yard pass from junior quarterback Phillip Fenumiai in the first quarter and the duo synced up again late in the fourth quarter for a five-yard score. Fenumiai was 13-of-25 for 169 yards in a starting role and fellow junior Nick Duckworth amassed 177 passing yards for the Wolves (1-1, 0-1 GNAC) going 13-for-19 during action beginning late in the first half. Central Washington (1-1, 1-0 GNAC) quarterback Justin Lane threw for 261 yards and three touchdowns as the Wildcats outgained WOU 45-1 353 for the game.
 
It was a closely contested game until the third quarter when the Wildcats started a rally of four consecutive scores without an answer until Avgi's second scoring grab with 37 seconds left in the game.
 
Central Washington and Western Oregon traded touchdown in the first quarter. CWU marched 74 yards on 12 plays on their first drive, culminating in a two-yard scoring run from Christian Cummings with a missed PAT. Less than 90 seconds later, WOU responded with a quick 68-yard scoring drive highlighted by Avgi slicing through the middle of the Wildcat coverage into the end zone. Redshirt freshman kicker Jacob Bannister added a 32-yard field goal for a 10-6 lead for Western Oregon at the end of 15 minutes.
 
The defenses stepped up in the second quarter. CWU had the only scoring in the second with Jordan Tufaga finding the end zone from 10 yards out capping a long 15-play drive that spanned 92 yards. Duckworth led WOU's two-minute drill at the end of the first half. He found Revis for a 21-yard gain and hit Malik Braxton for 31 yards setting up Bannister with a tying field goal chance. The 40-yard attempt had plenty of leg, but hooked wide to the left to give CWU the halftime advantage, 13-10.
 
After forcing a CWU punt early in the third quarter, Western Oregon moved down the field via Duckworth's arm and the chains moving on three occasions following Wildcat penalties. WOU got to the two-yard line, but a rush loss and a false start penalty pushed them back. Unable to find the end zone, Bannister tied the game at 13-13 with a 26-yard field goal.
 
Central started their scoring run on the next drive, moving the ball 73 yards in seven plays to go ahead 20-13. The Wildcats, forcing a three-and-out by the Wolves, rode the arm of Lane on a 58-yard scoring drive for a 27-13 lead at the end of the third quarter.
 
With a short field early in the fourth quarter, CWU gambled facing fourth down at the WOU 22. The gamble paid off as Lane rolled to his right, threw back across the field to the left finding tight end Kyle Self open for a touchdown.
 
The teams exchanged interceptions on successive play two drives later with Nathan Jones picking off Lane at the 45-yard line, only to see CWU's Jackson Huerta nab a Duckworth pass thrown into double coverage to give the Wildcats back possession.
 
CWU responded with another touchdown when running back Quincy Carter scampered 64 yards on a draw play into the end zone.
 
Fenumiai led the final WOU scoring effort hitting Avgi for the score after an earlier 44-yard pitch and catch with Wesley Gray.
 
Three WOU played paced the defensive effort with 10 or more tackles. Bo Highburger led the team for the second consecutive game posting a game-high 15 tackles with five stops coming for loss. Tyler Johnson had 12 stops including a sack while Tafatolu Tafai had three stops for loss in his 11 total tackles. Kui Williams had a pair of sacks and Nathan Jones had a pick and two breakups in the secondary.
 
The Wolves hit the road for the next two weeks. Western Oregon takes on FCS opponent Montana State on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 2:05 p.m. Mountain time. The following week, the Wolves return to GNAC play against Humboldt State on Sept. 24.